PTI/IANS
MIRPUR, FEB 24
Favourites India launched their campaign in style as they thrashed Bangladesh by 45 runs riding on a brilliant 83 by Rohit Sharma in the opening encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament here today.
Put into bat on a pacer-friendly wicket, India scored a challenging 166 for six with Rohit scoring his runs under pressure after they were reduced to 42 for three at one stage.
Hardik Pandya (31 off 18 balls) was the other notable contributor.
In reply, Bangladesh were never in the game being restricted to 121 for seven in the stipulated 20 overs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
Their decision to prepare a greenish wicket and unleash four pacers boomeranged badly as the home team's batsmen could neither handle spin or pace and were virtually decimated on the day.
Veteran Ashish Nehra (3/23) was literally unplayable with his variations as well as brisk pace that he generated. He was on a hat-trick in his final over.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/23 in 4 overs) also dealt an initial blow while Pandya (1/23 in 4 overs), Ravichhandran Ashwin (1/23 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (0/25 in 4 overs) maintained the pressure to indicate the real difference in quality between the two sides.
This is the first time the tournament is being played in the Twenty20 format.
Rohit Sharma's flamboyant innings of 83 runs not just took India out of trouble, but also helped them reach a competitive total of 166/6 in the Asia Cup opener. Rohit got very good support from Yuvraj Singh (15) and then all-rounder Hardik Pandya (31) and the trio rescued the visiting team who were tottering at 42/3 in the eighth over.
SCOREBOARD
India:
Rohit Sharma c Soumya Sarkar b Al-Amin Hossain 83
Shikhar Dhawan b Al-Amin Hossain 2
Virat Kohli c Mahmudullah b Mashrafe Mortaza 8
Suresh Raina b Mahmudullah 13
Yuvraj Singh c Soumya Sarkar b Shakib Al Hasan 15
Hardik Pandya c Mahmudullah b Al-Amin Hossain 31
Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out 8
Ravindra Jadeja not out 0
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 3) 6
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 166
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Dhawan, 1.3 overs), 2-22 (Kohli, 4.3), 3-42 (Raina, 7.5), 4-97 (Yuvraj Singh, 14.5), 5-158 (Sharma, 19.2), 6-158 (Pandya, 19.4)
Bowling
Taskin Ahmed 3-0-22-0 Al-Amin Hossain 4-0-37-3 Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-40-0 Mashrafe Mortaza 4-0-40-1 Mahmudullah 2-0-9-1 Shakib Al Hasan 3-0-15-1
Bangladesh
Soumya Sarkar c Dhoni b Bumrah 11
Mohammad Mithun b Nehra 1
Sabbir Rahman c Dhoni b Pandya 44
Imrul Kayes c Yuvraj Singh b Ashwin 14
Shakib Al Hasan run out (Sharma/Dhoni) 3
Mushfiqur Rahim not out 16
Mahmudullah c Sharma b Nehra 7
Mashrafe Mortaza c Jadeja b Nehra 0
Taskin Ahmed not out 15
Extras (lb 4, w 6) 10
Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 121
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Mohammad Mithun, 2.2 overs), 2-15 (Soumya Sarkar, 3.2), 3-50 (Imrul Kayes, 9.5), 4-73 (Shakib Al Hasan, 12.3), 5-82 (Sabbir Rahman, 14.1), 6-100 (Mahmudullah, 16.3), 7-100 (Mashrafe Mortaza, 16.4)
Bowling
Ashish Nehra 4-0-23-3 Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-23-1 Hardik Pandya 4-0-23-1 Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-23-1
Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-25-0
